Orange officials surprised by ranking among fast-growth counties in Census Bureau survey

by Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
May 2006

Mark Johnson, chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, knows that growth is inevitable. “All we can hope to do is try to hold it down to a level where we can take care of it and not let it get so far ahead of us that we never catch up,” he says.

The county, famous for its open, rolling fields and 18th and 19th farmhouses, may find that task increasingly difficult. It was one of nine Virginia counties that made the Census Bureau’s latest list of the country’s 100 fastest growing counties. The list is based on the percentage of population growth from July 1, 2004 to July 1, 2005.

Loudoun County, Virginia’s frequent leader in population growth, ranked No. 8 in the country, with 16,193 new residents and a 6.8 percent growth rate. King George County was No. 9, followed by Caroline County, No. 10; Culpeper County, No. 18; Louisa County, No. 73; Spotsylvania County, No. 74; and New Kent County, No. 92. Fluvanna County, with 916 new residents and a 3.8 percent growth rate finished at No. 95.

Orange County landed almost exactly in the middle, coming in at No. 44 with 1,408 new residents and a 4.9 percent growth rate. The strong showing was a surprise to Johnson and other local officials, who thought the county was ticking along at a 3-plus percent growth rate. The board of supervisors is working on a new comprehensive plan that seeks to better manage housing and commercial development with the influx of new residents. The county’s growth already has placed pressure on Orange’s schools and utilities and spurred the price of housing.

“It’s kind of nice to be wanted,” says Johnson. “On the other hand, we’d kind of like it if we weren’t wanted quite as much as we are right now.”